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Dear Quota Team,

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I’m a senior AE selling seven-figure deals at a mid-market infrastructure company. My new manager joined recently from a much smaller startup where deal sizes were maybe $50–100k.

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He’s smart and well-intentioned, but his coaching doesn’t map to reality. I get feedback like “create urgency earlier,” “push for faster closes,” or “tighten your discovery,” even when I’m dealing with six-month security reviews, procurement cycles, and committees I don’t control.

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When deals slip, it feels like the assumption is execution failure, not deal complexity. I’m struggling to apply advice from someone who’s never run a deal this size. How do I navigate coaching that doesn’t fit without sounding arrogant or defensive?

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Experienced in Location Withheld 

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Dear Experienced,

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Your job is to map his advice to reality. When he says “move faster,” respond with specifics: where the deal is blocked, who owns the delay, and what leverage actually exists.

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Bring evidence, not pushback. Walk him through one live deal step by step so he can see the constraints. If the coaching still ignores complexity, that's a useful signal. It tells you that you're unlikely to succeed with a manager who is more interested in dictating rather than collaborating.